Niagara Falls Memorial dedicates new inpatient medical-surgical unit

by jmaloni

Press release

Thu, Mar 28th 2013 09:00 am

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center registered nurses, from left, Donna Lamb, Martha Turner, Vonda Moore and Louise Hines will be soon introduce patients and family members to this comfortable, homelike family room on Memorial's new medical-surgical unit, which was dedicated Wednesday. The family room features a kitchenette and media/learning center among many amenities to help family members of hospitalized patients remain close to their loved ones.

Niagara
Falls Memorial Medical Center patients and their families will soon
be enjoying the latest advances in hospital care following
Wednesday's dedication and blessing of a new 24-bed medical-surgical
inpatient unit.

The
new unit, located on the second floor of Memorial's Schoellkopf
Building (S-2), is designed to reduce stress and promote faster
healing. It will replace a 30-year-old inpatient wing on the
hospital's third floor.

"This
unit was designed with patient and family-centered care as the
overriding concept," said Memorial President and CEO Joseph A.
Ruffolo. "This is a care model that requires health care
professionals to share complete information with patients and
families. In turn, it builds on the strength of patients and families
to enhance independence and facilitate a patient's healing."

The
new S-2 utilizes sound absorbent construction materials to help keep
noise levels low and soft lighting to provide a more relaxed patient
and family-centered environment. It emphasizes the importance of
family support by providing a comfortable, homelike family room with
a kitchenette and media/learning center among many amenities to help
family members of hospitalized patients remain close to their loved
ones.

"The
informed decision-making that results from patient and
family-centered care can improve treatment choice as well as the
quality of care and patient outcomes," said Memorial Vice President
and Chief Operating Officer Sheila K. Kee. "This new inpatient unit
provides the perfect environment for delivering that care."

As
is the case throughout the medical center, the new unit features all
private rooms at no extra charge for enhanced patient comfort and
satisfaction. With nurses' stations at each end of the floor, its
design will enable nurses to maintain closer contact with their
patients.

Additionally,
the new S-2 will have full electronic medical record and Wi-Fi
capability. That technology is becoming increasingly important to
Memorial's teaching mission, which involves allied health schools,
medical students and the medical center's osteopathic family
practice residency program.

The
dedication included a blessing of the new unit by the Rev. Joseph L.
Levesque, C.M., president of Niagara University.

Support
for the new S-2 was provided by the John R. Oishei Foundation, The
Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, Independent Health and the City of
Niagara Falls.